Source: Kimberly A. Ingold, Graduate Student from the Criminal Justice Sciences Department at Illinois State University
Dear mothers of those on the registry:
Please consider taking this survey:
If you are a registrant, please consider forwarding this email to your mother and encouraging her to take it.
It will bring awareness to the mothers of individuals on the sex offender registry and the struggles that they endure, and help mental health practitioners gain a better understanding of these women’s experiences so that they can provide better services and treatment to them.
Below are more details.
Thank you for your time.
Sincerely,
Janice Bellucci
ACSOL Executive Director
OVERVIEW:
Mothers of individuals on the U.S. sex offender registry are being asked to participate in a research study conducted by Kimberly A. Ingold, Graduate Student from the Criminal Justice Sciences Department at Illinois State University, under the supervision of Dr. Jessie Krienert, Professor from the Criminal Justice Sciences Department at Illinois State University. The purpose of this study is to examine if, and how, the mothers of individuals on the U.S. sex offender registry experience stigmatization and discrimination along with how this impacts their mental health.
Why are you being asked?
You have been asked to participate because you are the mother of an individual on the sex offender registry. You must be 18 years of age or older to participate and be a United States citizen. Your participation in this study is voluntary. You will not be penalized if you choose to skip parts of the study, not participate, or withdraw from the study at any time.
What would you do?
If you choose to participate in this study, you will complete a short survey. This survey will take approximately 15-20 minutes to complete. You also have the option to participate in a 30-minute interview via Zoom; however, this interview is not required. The Zoom interview will be audio recorded.
Who will benefit from this study?
Although there are no direct benefits of participation, the results of this study will be used to bring awareness to the mothers of individuals on the sex offender registry and the struggles that they endure. Additionally, this study will help mental health practitioners gain a better understanding of these women’s experiences so that they can provide better services and treatment to them.
Click here for more details
Download the flyer:
Survey request to the mothers of individuals on the U.S. sex offender registry flyer.pdf
This is a very important and impactful survey [… My mother] told me that, when I went to prison, she felt she lost a part of herself…as though she had died a little more within herself every day I was incarcerated. Yet, perhaps her biggest worry in all that time, was what kind of person would be walking out of purgatory, and into her home.
Even now, family is more important to me than anyone else on this planet, and I’m an integral part of my mother’s world as well. She will continue to love and care about me…*no matter what*, and that sort of unconditional love takes an incredible strength and resilience which only mothers possess.
I can’t imagine any mother, who truly loves their child, could or would ever support something so horrendous and inhuman as the registry scheme. Instead, they will *always* find a way to forgive a son or a daughter for *anything* which may have been done in the past, even when the entire world is telling them they shouldn’t…
I took the survey. Wherever possible in the comment boxes I reinforced the idea that the registry makes it nearly impossible to live a good life even after years of rehab and clean living. Therein lies the stress and depression – there is no way out.
In my case the relentless anxiety comes from being witness to my very young son realizing he ruined his life because he had a problem kept hidden. He was 19 when arrested and his internet problem started much younger than that and much more innocently. I was unaware and that guilt will go with me to the grave. I did not protect him from the internet – and ironically I was fully involved in his life. We did not do social media, I was active at his school and in his sports, he got excellent grades, etc. So I am one of those clueless parents we judge on this site for somehow not knowing what was going on. And then him going off to college I had zero visibility. I will never forgive myself.
On the positive side, he has worked his arse off to fight through his addiction (his word) and his OCD. He has a job and is getting through probation including the stupid polygraphs and LE checks. We are closer because of this nightmare and I told him I will walk this path with him until the day I die. I plan to become as active as possible in overturning these registries – it’s the very least I can do.
Thanks to all who took or forwarded the survey. We need to make as much noise as possible about the registry scheme.